Inspecting apparatus

ABSTRACT

An inspection apparatus is provided with a holder configured to set an inspection target thereon, the inspection target configured to detect a contact position on the inspection target touched by a human finger; pseudo finger(s) configured to be detected as the human finger upon contact with the inspection target; a positioner configured to move the pseudo finger(s) relative to the inspection target and to change the contact position of the pseudo finger(s) relative to the inspection target; a memory configured to store, respectively, a value of a pressing force in a range of pressing forces said range including a zero pressing force for each of the pseudo finger(s) on the inspection target; a controller configured to regulate the pressing force for pseudo finger(s) of the pseudo finger(s) based on the respective value; and a sensor configured to acquire an electric signal output from the inspection target.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.15/680,272, filed on Aug. 18, 2017, which is a continuation applicationfrom U.S. application Ser. No. 14/606,043, filed on Jan. 27, 2015, whichclaimed the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-012396,filed on Jan. 27, 2014, the contents of each are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

This disclosure relates to a configuration of an apparatus forinspecting a touch panel.

Related Art

With the recent rapid widespread use of electronic appliances such as asmartphone and a tablet, there is an increasing demand for touch paneldevices configured to detect a position touched by a human finger orwith a stylus pen. Examples of the touch panel device include anelectrostatic capacitance touch panel device, a pressure-sensitiveresistive film touch panel device, and the like.

A recent stylus pen has been provided with a pressure-sensitive sensorto realize a so-called writing pressure sensing function. A combinationof this pressure- sensitive pen with a touch panel device allows aprocess of changing a reaction based on a difference in writing pressureeven when the same position is touched. As a result, this combinationallows more intuitive operation of an electronic appliance.

It is considerably important for touch panel device manufacturers toconduct inspection on touch panel devices (sensor panels) for thepurpose of avoiding defectives from being mixed in non-defectives tothereby ensure the product quality. For this reason, various touch panelinspecting apparatuses have been proposed.

For example, JP 2003-303051 A discloses a touch panel inspection devicefor evaluating the destruction durability performance of a so-calledpressure-sensitive touch panel using a resistance film. The touch panelinspection device includes a pen member configured to slide on a panelsurface of a touch panel. The pen member has a first end for pressingthe touch panel, and a second end which is an opposite end to the firstend, the second end provided with a weight corresponding to weightingmeans having a predetermined weight.

The touch panel inspection device disclosed in JP 2003-303051 A isconfigured to evaluate the destruction durability performance of a touchpanel, but is not configured to determine whether or not a touch panelis a defective. However, the configuration disclosed in JP 2003-303051 Aallows optional settings for pressure of the pen member pressed againstthe panel surface of the touch panel, which leads to furtherdiversification of the inspection methods.

According to some of recent techniques which have been proposed, asensor of a stylus pen does not sense writing pressure, but a touchpanel device senses pressure of a touch. Examples of such a techniqueinclude a technique of combining an electrostatic capacitance touchpanel with a pressure sensor and a technique of forming a touch panelusing a material whose characteristics vary depending on a mechanicalload, and the potentials of these techniques have been under review.

The technique capable of sensing pressure of a touch using a touch panelallows sensing of a difference in pressure in addition to a positiontouched by a finger without using a dedicated stylus pen, when being putto practical use. Therefore, this technique can be expected to furtherimprove user's convenience.

In order to inspect whether or not such a pressing force sensitive touchpanel correctly operates, it is necessary to bring a pseudo finger intopress contact with the touch panel while changing pressing force, and toexamine electrical signals in the touch panel.

However, if the inspection device disclosed in JP 2003-303051 A isadapted to conduct this inspection, a weight is replaced by a differentone each time the pressing force of the pen member is changed, so thatthe inspection efficiency is considerably degraded.

In the inspection device disclosed in JP 2003-303051 A, moreover, whenthe pen member is brought into contact with the touch panel, the selfweights of at least the pen member, the weight, and an arm member thatsupports the weight are acted on the contact. For this reason, weakeningthe pressing force has a ceiling and, in actual fact, the inspectiondevice cannot fill a need to inspect operation of the touch panel whichis touched with considerably light force such as approximately zerogram.

SUMMARY

In view of the circumstances described above, an exemplary embodiment ofthe disclosure provides a touch panel inspecting apparatus having aconfiguration capable of inspecting a touch panel while easily andflexibly changing force to bring a pseudo finger into contact with thetouch panel.

The technical challenges to be solved by the disclosure are as describedabove. Hereinafter, a description will be given of solutions to thesetechnical challenges and the advantageous effects of the solutions.

An exemplary embodiment of the disclosure provides a touch panelinspecting apparatus having the following configuration. The touch panelinspecting apparatus includes a holding part, a pseudo finger, a contactposition changing part, a set pressing force memory part, a pressingforce regulating part, and an acquiring part. The holding part isconfigured to allow a touch panel, which is an inspection target, to beset thereon. The pseudo finger is configured to be contactable with thetouch panel set on the holding part. The contact position changing partis configured to move the pseudo finger relative to the touch panel andto change a contact position of the touch panel with the pseudo finger.The set pressing force memory part is configured to store a set value ofpressing force of the pseudo finger, in a changeable manner. Thepressing force regulating part is configured to regulate the pressingforce to bring the pseudo finger into contact with the touch panel,based on the set value stored in the set pressing force memory part. Theacquiring part is configured to acquire an electric signal output fromthe touch panel.

Thus, the touch panel inspecting apparatus can inspect the touch panel,based on the electric signal acquired by the acquiring part, whileeasily and flexibly changing the force to bring the pseudo finger intocontact with the touch panel, by changing the set value stored in theset pressing force memory part. Accordingly, the touch panel inspectingapparatus can quickly address a change of a touch panel to be inspected,a change of inspection conditions, and the like, and therefore canconsiderably improve inspection efficiency.

Preferably, the touch panel inspecting apparatus further includes aweight canceling part configured to apply, to the pseudo finger, forceto bring the pseudo finger apart from the touch panel.

Thus, the touch panel inspecting apparatus can bring the pseudo fingerinto contact with the touch panel with force lighter than the selfweight of the pseudo finger. Accordingly, the touch panel inspectingapparatus can inspect the touch panel under wider conditions than everbefore.

In the touch panel inspecting apparatus, preferably, the set pressingforce memory part is capable of storing a set value corresponding tozero pressing force of the pseudo finger.

Thus, the touch panel inspecting apparatus can bring about a state inwhich the pseudo finger is in contact with the touch panel with the zeropressing force. Accordingly, the touch panel inspecting apparatus caninspect the touch panel in a special state in which a mechanical load tobe applied to the touch panel is substantially eliminated.

Preferably, the touch panel inspecting apparatus has the followingconfiguration. The touch panel inspecting apparatus further includes ahousing, a bearing-forming gas passage, a thrust gas passage, and acanceling gas passage. The housing has an accommodating chamber foraccommodating the pseudo finger, and is configured to support the pseudofinger so as to allow the pseudo finger to move linearly. Thebearing-forming gas passage is a passage for a compressed gas to besupplied for forming a hydrostatic gas bearing between the housing andthe pseudo finger. The thrust gas passage is a passage for a compressedgas to be supplied for acting, on the pseudo finger, force to bring thepseudo finger close to the touch panel. The canceling gas passage is apassage for a compressed gas to be supplied for acting, on the pseudofinger, the force to bring the pseudo finger apart from the touch panel.The pressing force regulating part controls at least one of pressure ofthe compressed gas supplied to the thrust gas passage and pressure ofthe compressed gas supplied to the canceling gas passage to regulate thepressing force to bring the pseudo finger into contact with the touchpanel.

Thus, the touch panel inspecting apparatus forms the hydrostatic gasbearing to substantially eliminate the slide friction of the pseudofinger and to control the gas pressure at the thrust gas passage or thecanceling gas passage, thereby easily and flexibly regulating thepressing force of the pseudo finger. Moreover, the touch panelinspecting apparatus can easily bring about a state in which the pseudofinger is in contact with the touch panel with considerably weakpressing force (or zero pressing force), by the differential controlusing the pressure at the thrust gas passage and the pressure at thecanceling gas passage.

Preferably, the touch panel inspecting apparatus has the followingconfiguration. The touch panel inspecting apparatus includes theplurality of pseudo fingers. The pressing force regulating part iscapable of regulating, for each pseudo finger, the pressing force tobring the pseudo finger into contact with the touch panel.

Thus, the touch panel inspecting apparatus can inspect the touch panelby bringing the plurality of pseudo fingers into contact with the touchpanel simultaneously, and therefore can efficiently conduct theinspection.

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects, and advantages ofthe disclosed invention will become more apparent from the followingdetailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating an overallconfiguration of a touch panel inspecting apparatus according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a partially conceptual block diagram illustrating aconfiguration of a pseudo finger mechanism; and

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the touch panel inspectingapparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the disclosure will be described below withreference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective viewillustrating an overall configuration of a touch panel inspectingapparatus 1 according to an exemplary embodiment.

The touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is mountedon a horizontal workbench 90 in active use. The touch panel inspectingapparatus 1 includes a base 51, a workpiece holder (a holding part) 52,an X-Y movement mechanism 53, a Z movement mechanism 54, and a pseudofinger mechanism 55.

The base 51 has a horizontal upper surface, and an X axis and a Y axiswhich are orthogonal to each other are defined in a plane parallel withthe horizontal upper surface. Moreover, a Z axis is defined in adirection perpendicular to the X-Y plane.

The workpiece holder (the holding part) 52 is fixed onto the uppersurface of the base 51. The workpiece holder 52 has a horizontal flatplate shape. The workpiece holder 52 has a suction table (notillustrated) capable of fixedly holding a flat plate-shaped touch panel100, which is an inspection target, with a front surface of the touchpanel 100 directed upward. The touch panel 100 has a rectangular shape,and is set on the workpiece holder 52 such that one of orthogonal twosides thereof is in parallel with the X axis and the other side is inparallel with the Y axis.

The X-Y movement mechanism 53 corresponds to a biaxial planar movementmechanism in which two linear guides are combined, and is mounted on thebase 51. The X-Y movement mechanism 53 can move the pseudo fingermechanism 55 serving as an inspection head, in the X-Y plane which isparallel with the surface of the base 51 (the surface of the touch panel100 to be described later). Thus, it is possible to optionally change aposition where a pseudo finger 21 of the pseudo finger mechanism 55comes into contact with the touch panel 100.

The X-Y movement mechanism 53 includes a linear guide 61, a guide rail62, a first carriage 63, and a second carriage 65.

Each of the linear guide 61 and the guide rail 62 is disposed in adirection parallel with the Y axis. The linear guide 61 and the guiderail 62 are disposed to face each other with the base 51 interposedtherebetween in plan view.

The first carriage 63 is disposed to lay over the linear guide 61 andthe guide rail 62. The first carriage 63 is disposed in a directionparallel with the X axis and is guided by the linear guide 61 and theguide rail 62 so as to be linearly movable in the Y axis direction. AY-axis drive motor 64 is attached to the linear guide 61 and is drivento optionally displace the first carriage 63 in the Y-axis direction.

The first carriage 63 is configured to support the second carriage 65.The first carriage 63 constitutes a linear guide and guides the secondcarriage 65 such that the second carriage 65 can linearly move in theX-axis direction corresponding to the longitudinal direction of thefirst carriage 63. An X-axis drive motor 66 is attached to the firstcarriage 63 and is driven to optionally displace the second carriage 65in the X- axis direction.

The second carriage 65 is configured to support a bracket 67. The secondcarriage 65 includes a screw feed mechanism (not illustrated) forguiding the bracket 67 such that the bracket 67 can linearly move in theZ-axis direction corresponding to an up-and-down direction. A Z-axisdrive motor 68 is attached to the second carriage 65 and is driven tooptionally displace the bracket 67 in the Z-axis direction. The screwfeed mechanism and the like constitute the Z movement mechanism 54capable of moving the pseudo finger mechanism 55 in the Z-axisdirection.

The pseudo finger mechanism 55 is supported on a lower portion of thebracket 67. The pseudo finger mechanism 55 constitutes the inspectionhead in the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 according to anillustrative embodiment, and includes a plurality of (three in anillustrative embodiment) pseudo fingers (each including a movablemember, a needle, a contact member) 21 elongated in the up-and-downdirection. The three pseudo fingers 21 are linearly arranged at equalintervals (FIG. 1 illustrates the state in which the pseudo fingers 21are arranged in the X-axis direction). The pseudo finger mechanism 55can press the three pseudo fingers 21 against the touch panel 100 withpreset force.

The pseudo finger mechanism 55 is supported by the bracket 67 via apivot 70 directed in a perpendicular direction. Accordingly, the pseudofinger mechanism 55 is rotatable about the pivot 70. A turning motor 71is provided on an upper portion of the bracket 67 and is driven tochange an angle of the pseudo finger mechanism 55 (i.e., an arrangementangle of the three pseudo fingers 21) relative to the X and Y axes.

With reference to FIG. 2, next, a description will be given of thedetailed configuration of the pseudo finger mechanism 55. FIG. 2 is apartially conceptual block diagram illustrating the configuration of thepseudo finger mechanism 55.

The pseudo finger mechanism 55 includes the pseudo fingers 21 describedabove, and a housing 22 for accommodating these pseudo fingers 21.

The pseudo finger mechanism 55 is formed of a hydrostatic air bearingactuator (a gas bearing actuator), and is capable of supporting therod-shaped pseudo finger 21 by an air bearing (a gas bearing) in anon-contact manner.

The housing 22 has an accommodating chamber 24 formed therein and iscapable of accommodating the pseudo fingers 21. Each of the pseudofingers 21 formed into the round rod shape elongated in the up-and-downdirection has an upper portion inserted into the accommodating chamber24 and a lower end (a distal end) protruding from the housing 22. Thepseudo finger 21 is supported by the housing 22 so as to be displaceablein the up-and-down direction. With this configuration, when the pseudofinger 21 is displaced downward, the lower end of the pseudo finger 21can be brought into contact with the touch panel 100.

The accommodating chamber 24 is provided with a cylindrical bush 25 madeof a porous material, and the pseudo finger 21 is inserted into the bush25. A small clearance is created between the bush 25 and the pseudofinger 21 in a radial direction. The housing 22 also has abearing-forming air passage (a bearing-forming gas passage) 31 formedtherein. In the housing 22, compressed air (compressed gas) supplied tothe bearing-forming air passage 31 passes through a large number ofpores in the porous bush 25 and then is uniformly ejected to theclearance between the bush 25 and the pseudo finger 21. The air bearingthus formed holds the pseudo finger 21 in the non- contact manner. As aresult, it is possible to reduce, to a negligible degree, slidingresistance generated when the pseudo finger 21 moves up and downrelative to the housing 22.

The bearing-forming air passage 31 has a first end opened at theaccommodating chamber 24 and a second end (a bearing-forming air port36) opened at an outer surface of the housing 22. The bearing-formingair port 36 is connected to a compressed air source (a compressed gassupply source) 5 via an appropriate pipe.

In the pseudo finger mechanism 55, the housing 22 also has a thrust airpassage (a thrust gas passage) 32 formed therein. The thrust air passage32 has a first end opened at the accommodating chamber 24 and a secondend (a thrust air port 37) opened at the outer surface of the housing22. The thrust air port 37 is connected via an appropriate pipe to anelectric pneumatic regulator 42 for regulating pressure of thecompressed air supplied from the compressed air source 5.

In the pseudo finger mechanism 55, the housing 22 also has a cancelingair passage (a weight canceling part, a canceling gas passage) 33 formedtherein. The canceling air passage 33 has a first end opened at theaccommodating chamber 24 and a second end (a canceling air port 38)opened at the outer surface of the housing 22. The canceling air port 38is connected via an appropriate pipe to an electric pneumatic regulator43 for regulating the pressure of the compressed air supplied from thecompressed air source 5.

Although not illustrated in the drawings, the housing 22 has a dischargepassage appropriately formed therein to let the compressed air suppliedto each of the bearing-forming air passage 31, the thrust air passage32, and the canceling air passage 33 escape to the outside.

Each of the two electric pneumatic regulators (the gas pressureregulators) 42 and 43 is electrically connected to a control computer 15for controlling the operation of the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1.

The electric pneumatic regulator 42 regulates the pressure of thecompressed air supplied to the thrust air port 37, to pressureresponsive to an electric signal from the control computer 15. Likewise,the electric pneumatic regulator 43 regulates the pressure of thecompressed air supplied to the canceling air port 38, to pressureresponsive to an electric signal from the control computer 15. Thispressure control allows the pseudo finger 21 to linearly move in adirection close to or apart from the touch panel 100. As will bedescribed in detail later, moreover, this pressure control allowsregulation of pressing force to press the pseudo finger 21 against thetouch panel 100.

The electric pneumatic regulator 42 and the electric pneumatic regulator43 are of a high resolution type, and therefore can finely regulate thepressure at the thrust air port 37 and the pressure at the canceling airport 38, respectively.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a load cell 72 corresponding to a load sensoris disposed on the second carriage 65 supporting the pseudo fingermechanism 55. The load cell 72 is configured to measure and outputpressing stress of the pseudo finger 21. For example, the measured valueof the pressing stress is used for calibrating the pressing force of thepseudo finger 21 in the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1. Thiscalibration allows enhancement of accuracy for controlling the pressingforce of the pseudo finger 21.

FIG. 2 illustrates only one of the pseudo fingers 21 as arepresentative. Actually, the three pseudo fingers 21 are arrangedhorizontally. The accommodating chamber 24 and the air bearing areformed for each pseudo finger 21. Moreover, one electric pneumaticregulator 42 and one electric pneumatic regulator 43 are provided foreach pseudo finger 21. Accordingly, the three pseudo fingers 21 can bedisplaced in the up-and-down direction independently of one another, andthe pressing forces to press the respective pseudo fingers 21 againstthe touch panel 100 can also be regulated independently of one another.

With reference to FIG. 3, next, a description will be given of anelectrical configuration of the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1. FIG.3 is a functional block diagram of the touch panel inspecting apparatus1.

The control computer 15 is capable of exchanging signals with therespective constituents of the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 inorder to inspect the touch panel 100. The control computer 15 is capableof sending signals to the X-axis drive motor 66, the Y-axis drive motor64, the Z-axis drive motor 68, the turning motor 71, and the electricpneumatic regulators 42 and 43 to control these constituents. Moreover,the control computer 15 is capable of acquiring a signal from the loadcell 72.

The control computer 15 is electrically connected to a panel signalacquiring part 19 to acquire from the panel signal acquiring part 19results of detection regarding the contact position of the touch panel100 with the pseudo finger 21 and the pressing force to press the pseudofinger 21 against the touch panel 100.

In an illustrative embodiment, the control computer 15 corresponds to apersonal computer, and is provided with an operating part 16 including amouse, a keyboard, and the like for setting the operations of the touchpanel inspecting apparatus 1; and a memory part 17 including memorydevices such as a ROM, a RAM, and an HDD for storing the varioussettings. A user operates the operating part 16, thereby setting variousparameters required for conducting inspection using the touch panelinspecting apparatus 1. The parameters thus set are stored in the memorypart 17 of the control computer 15.

Examples of the parameter storable in the memory part 17 may include,but not limited thereto, lengthwise and widthwise dimensions of a touchpanel to be inspected; the number of electrodes arranged in a matrix inthe touch panel; a pitch between the electrodes arranged in rows; and apitch between the electrodes arranged in columns.

One of the parameters settable by the user who operates the controlcomputer 15 is the magnitude of the pressing force to press the pseudofinger 21 against the touch panel 100. More specifically, the useroperates the operating part 16, thereby inputting and setting themagnitude of the force to press the pseudo finger 21 against the touchpanel 100 (the pressing force) within a predetermined range. Themagnitude of the pressing force can be stored in the memory part 17. Inthe case of changing the pressing force, the user operates the operatingpart 16 to input a new set value of the pressing force. The set valuecan be newly stored in the memory part 17. Accordingly, the memory part17 may be referred to as a set pressing force memory part.

In the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 according to an illustrativeembodiment, the range of the pressing force settable by the userincludes zero. Specifically, the pressing force may be set within arange of 0 gf (lower limit) to 3 kgf (upper limit) for example. When thepressing force is set at 0 gf, the control computer 15 controls the twoelectric pneumatic regulators 42 and 43 so as to keep a balance amongthe force to press the pseudo finger 21 downward by the compressed airsupplied to the thrust air port 37, the self weight of the pseudo finger21, and the force to press the pseudo finger 21 upward by the compressedair supplied to the canceling air port 38.

In an illustrative embodiment, the pseudo finger 21 is made of alight-weight material and has slide friction of substantially zero byvirtue of the air bearing described above. Moreover, the self weight ofthe pseudo finger 21 can be canceled by the supply of the compressed airto the canceling air port 38. Furthermore, the pressing force generatedat the pseudo finger 21 is differentially controlled by the pressureapplied to the thrust air port 37 and the pressure applied to thecanceling air port 38. The electric pneumatic regulators 42 and 43 thatcontrol the respective pressures are of a high resolution type. Asdescribed above, the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 can bring abouta state in which the pseudo finger 21 is not substantially pressedagainst the touch panel 100 although the pseudo finger 21 is in contactwith the touch panel 100.

The state of a contact at zero pressing force can be represented as “anultimate soft touch”, and can be utilized in various scenes which couldnot have been conceived heretofore. For example, in a case of inspectinga touch panel having characteristics varying by application of amechanical load, the inspection can be conducted in a state in which themechanical load is substantially eliminated, which is advantageous. Asdescribed above, the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 according to anillustrative embodiment can considerably extend the set lower limitvalue of the pressing force of the pseudo finger 21.

In the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 according to an illustrativeembodiment, moreover, the user designates the magnitude of the pressingforce to press the pseudo finger 21 against the touch panel 100 in theform of a set value, thereby pressing the pseudo finger 21 against thetouch panel 100 with the designated pressing force. Accordingly, it ispossible to conduct inspection assuming that the touch panel 100 istouched with various forces, in a considerably efficient manner.

The touch panel 100 to be inspected is electrically connected to thepanel signal acquiring part 19 including a microcomputer and the like,via a connector and an electric wire. The panel signal acquiring part 19acquires information about a pressed position of the touch panel 100 andthe magnitude of the pressing force, by calculation based on a signalfrom the touch panel 100. The information thus acquired is transmittedto the control computer 15.

The control computer 15 compares the pressed position of the touch panel100 and the magnitude of the pressing force of the pseudo finger 21 withthe information thus acquired from the panel signal acquiring part 19,thereby determining whether or not the touch panel 100 is abnormal.Thus, it is possible to detect a defective touch panel with reliability.

FIG. 1 illustrates the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 including thethree pseudo fingers 21 arranged in parallel with the X axis. In a caseof conducting the inspection with the three pseudo fingers 21 broughtinto contact with the touch panel 100 simultaneously, the direction ofarranging the pseudo fingers 21 is preferably inclined relative to boththe X and Y axes. Furthermore, controlling the turning motor 71 suchthat the direction of arranging the pseudo fingers 21 becomes parallelwith a diagonal line of a lattice formed by transparent electrodesarranged in a matrix while reading, from the memory part 17, the pitchbetween the transparent electrodes arranged in rows and the pitchbetween the transparent electrodes arranged in columns in the touchpanel 100 is preferable because inspection conducted in this conditionhas no deviation as compared with inspection conducted in the state inwhich the direction of arranging the pseudo fingers 21 is parallel withthe X or Y axis.

As described above, the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 according toan illustrative embodiment includes the workpiece holder 52, the pseudofinger 21, the X- Y movement mechanism 53, the memory part 17, theelectric pneumatic regulators 42 and 43, and the panel signal acquiringpart 19. The workpiece holder 52 allows the touch panel 100, which is aninspection target, to be set thereon. The pseudo finger 21 iscontactable with the touch panel 100 set on the workpiece holder 52. TheX-Y movement mechanism 53 allows the pseudo finger 21 to move relativeto the touch panel 100. The memory part 17 stores therein a set value ofpressing force of the pseudo finger 21, in a changeable manner. Each ofthe electric pneumatic regulators 42 and 43 regulates the pressing forceto bring the pseudo finger 21 into contact with the touch panel 100,based on the set value stored in the memory part 17. The panel signalacquiring part 19 acquires an electric signal output from the touchpanel 100.

Thus, the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 can inspect the touch panel100 while easily and flexibly changing the force to bring the pseudofinger 21 into contact with the touch panel 100, by changing the setvalue stored in the memory part 17. Accordingly, the touch panelinspecting apparatus 1 can quickly address a change of a touch panel tobe inspected, a change of inspection conditions, and the like, andtherefore can considerably improve inspection efficiency.

The touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 according to an illustrativeembodiment also includes the canceling air passage 33 for applying, tothe pseudo finger 21, force to bring the pseudo finger 21 apart from thetouch panel 100.

Thus, the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 can bring the pseudo finger21 into contact with the touch panel 100 with force lighter than theself weight of the pseudo finger 21. Accordingly, the touch panelinspecting apparatus 1 can inspect the touch panel 100 under widerconditions than ever before.

In the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 according to an illustrativeembodiment, moreover, the memory part 17 is capable of storing a setvalue corresponding to zero pressing force of the pseudo finger 21.

Thus, the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 can bring about a state inwhich the pseudo finger 21 is in contact with the touch panel 100 withthe zero pressing force, by setting the pressing force of the pseudofinger 21 at zero. Accordingly, the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1can inspect the touch panel 100 in a special state in which a mechanicalload to be applied to the touch panel 100 is substantially eliminated.

The touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 according to an illustrativeembodiment includes the housing 22, the bearing-forming air passage 31,the thrust air passage 32, and the canceling air passage 33. The housing22 has the accommodating chamber 24 for accommodating the pseudo finger21, and supports the pseudo finger 21 so as to allow the pseudo finger21 to move linearly. The bearing-forming air passage 31 is a passage forcompressed air to be supplied for forming a hydrostatic air bearingbetween the housing 22 and the pseudo finger 21. The thrust air passage32 is a passage for compressed air to be supplied for acting, on thepseudo finger 21, force to bring the pseudo finger 21 close to the touchpanel 100. The canceling air passage 33 is a passage for compressed airto be supplied for acting, on the pseudo finger 21, the force to bringthe pseudo finger 21 apart from the touch panel 100. The electricpneumatic regulators 42 and 43 appropriately control the pressure of thecompressed air supplied to the thrust air passage 32 and the pressure ofthe compressed air supplied to the canceling air passage 33, therebyregulating the pressing force to bring the pseudo finger 21 into contactwith the touch panel 100.

Thus, the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 forms the hydrostatic airbearing to substantially eliminate the slide friction of the pseudofinger 21 and to control the gas pressure at the thrust air passage 32or the canceling air passage 33, thereby easily and flexibly regulatingthe pressing force of the pseudo finger 21. Moreover, the touch panelinspecting apparatus 1 can easily bring about a state in which thepseudo finger 21 is contact in with the touch panel 100 withconsiderably weak pressing force (or zero pressing force), by thedifferential control using the pressure at the thrust air passage 32 andthe pressure at the canceling air passage 33.

The touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 according to an illustrativeembodiment includes the plurality of pseudo fingers 21. The electricpneumatic regulators 42 and 43 can regulate, for each pseudo finger 21,the pressing force to bring the pseudo finger 21 into contact with thetouch panel 100.

Thus, the touch panel inspecting apparatus 1 can inspect the touch panel100 by bringing the plurality of pseudo fingers 21 into contact with thetouch panel 100 simultaneously, and therefore can efficiently conductthe inspection.

An illustrative embodiment of the disclosure has been described above;however, the foregoing configuration may be modified as follows.

In place of the foregoing embodiment in which the pseudo finger 21 isdirectly brought into contact with the touch panel 100, a differentmember such as an inspection probe or a contact sensor may be fixed tothe pseudo finger 21 or a different component may be held by the pseudofinger 21, and such a member or component may be brought into contactwith the touch panel 100.

In the foregoing embodiment, the control computer 15 controls both thepressure at the thrust air passage 32 and the pressure at the cancelingair passage 33 in order to realize the zero pressing force. In place ofthe foregoing embodiment, the control computer 15 may realize the zeropressing force by setting one of the pressures at a constant value andcontrolling the other pressure.

The number of pseudo fingers 21 is not limited to three, but may be twoor at least four. Moreover, the number of pseudo fingers 21 may be one.If the number of pseudo fingers 21 is one, there is no necessity to turnthe pseudo finger mechanism 55. Therefore, it is possible to omit theconfiguration including the turning motor 71 and the like.

The X-Y movement mechanism 53 may relatively move the pseudo finger 21.Accordingly, the relative movement of the touched position may berealized by movement of the touch panel 100 rather than the pseudofinger 21.

The foregoing disclosure has been specifically described and illustratedin connection with certain illustrative embodiments. However, it isclearly understood that the embodiments are by way of illustration andexample only and are not to be taken by way of limitation. The spiritand scope of the invention are limited only by the terms of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An inspection apparatus comprising: a holderconfigured to set an inspection target thereon, the inspection targetconfigured to detect a contact position on the inspection target touchedby a human finger; at least one pseudo finger configured to be detectedas the human finger upon contact with the inspection target, the atleast one pseudo finger being an elongated member; a positionerconfigured to move the at least one pseudo fingers relative to theinspection target and to change the contact position of the at least onepseudo finger relative to the inspection target; a memory configured tostore a respective value of a pressing force in a range of pressingforces, said range including a zero pressing force value, for each ofthe at least one pseudo finger on the inspection target; a controllerconfigured to regulate the pressing force for at least one pseudo fingerbased on the one or more respective values; and a sensor configured toacquire an electric signal output from the inspection target.
 2. Theinspection apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a weight cancelingpart configured to apply, to the at least one pseudo finger, a cancelingforce to bring the at least one pseudo finger apart from the inspectiontarget.
 3. The inspection apparatus of claim 1, wherein regulation ofthe pressing force by the controller is maintained during said changingof the contact position of the pseudo finger relative to the inspectiontarget by the positioner.
 4. The inspection apparatus of claim 1,wherein slide friction of the pseudo finger on the inspection target isconfigured to be eliminated by said maintaining of the pressing force bythe controller.
 5. The inspection apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising: a housing having a chamber for accommodating the at leastone pseudo finger for a linear movement therein; and a bearing-forminggas passage configured to receive a bearing-forming gas pressure forforming a hydrostatic gas bearing between the housing and the at leastone pseudo finger.
 6. The inspection apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising: a thrust gas passage configured to receive a thrust-forminggas pressure to provide a thrust force biasing the at least one pseudofinger toward the inspection target; and a canceling gas passageconfigured to receive a thrust-canceling gas pressure to provide acanceling force opposing the thrust force; wherein the controllercontrols at least one of the thrust-forming gas pressure and thethrust-canceling gas pressure to regulate said pressing force.
 7. Theinspection apparatus of claim 1, wherein said at least one pseudo fingerfurther comprises: at least two pseudo fingers; wherein the controlleris configured to regulate pressing forces of each of said at least twopseudo fingers independently.
 8. The inspection apparatus of claim 1,wherein said zero pressing force includes said pressing force less thana minimum pressing force necessary to actuate the inspection target. 9.The inspection apparatus of claim 8, wherein said zero pressing forceincludes a considerably weak pressing force greater than 0 gf.
 10. Theinspection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured toregulate the pressing force to progressively increase from said zeropressing force to determine a lower actuation limit pressing force valuebased on the electrical signal output acquired by the sensor, whereinthe lower actuation limit corresponds to the minimum pressing forcenecessary to trigger a detection of said contact position by theinspection target.
 11. The inspection apparatus of claim 10, wherein thecontroller is configured to regulate the pressing force to progressivelydecrease from said lower actuation limit pressing force to determine amaximum de-actuation limit pressing force value based on the electricalsignal output acquired by the sensor, wherein the maximum de-actuationlimit corresponds to the maximum pressing force necessary to trigger adetection of a movement by the positioner away from the detected contactposition.
 12. The inspecting apparatus of claim 6, wherein regulation bythe controller of said pressing force is differentially controlled bythe pressure applied to thrust gas passage and the cancelling gaspassage, respectively.
 13. The inspecting apparatus of claim 6, whereinthe zero pressing force is realized by setting one of the pressureapplied to the thrust gas passage and the cancelling gas passage,respectively, to a constant value and varying the other of saidrespective pressures.
 14. The inspecting apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe inspection target is at least one of pressure sensitive orcapacitive.
 15. The inspection apparatus of claim 1, wherein thehydrostatic gas bearing is configured to eliminate the slide friction ofsaid at least one pseudo finger in a linear direction.
 16. Theinspection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pseudo finger is journalledwithin a cylindrical bushing.
 17. The inspection apparatus of claim 16wherein the cylindrical bushing is porous.